Tanzania experienced a top down democratic transition. This transition path gave the ruling party monopoly to determine the transition pace, design the rules of the game, as well as to own and benefit out of it. The de-linking of the party from the state of the previous authoritarian regime has yet happened thereby creating uneven playfield for opposition parties to be effective. This article, based on documents, interviews, and newspapers, holds that the landslide victories by the ruling party in the past general elections of 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 were largely attributed to its fusion with the state.

No abstract

Does “where to publish” affect academic staff promotion outcome? Using rational choice theory and the University of Dar es Salaam as case study, this article analyses the law and practice associated with academic staff promotion regarding “where to publish”. The article finds that the University has relatively well elaborate and adequate promotion guidelines and institutional frameworks to guide on “where to publish” in line with its vision of becoming a world-class university. Nonetheless, through series of workshops with staff and heads of department as well as interviews with the University management, it was observed that there is still little understanding of “where to publish” among staff although the situation is progressively changing. Some staff prefer predatory journals due to ignorance, frequent failures and lack of confidence to publish in credible journals. Consequently, the annual promotion rate remains low suggesting high rejection of publications by the University due to predatory nature of media of publication and failure by majority staff to publish.

No abstract

The electoral discourse in Africa today is dominated by the question of the 'independence' of an electoral management body as one of the prerequisites for free and fair elections. The central issue in the discourse is 'what constitutes the basic tests of an independent body'. By overemphasising the structures and legal framework of an electoral body, institutionalists assume that the actors and the electoral body are distinctive. Drawing from the 'institution-actor dichotomy' frame of analysis, this article argues that both the structure and behaviour of actors are essential in assessing the independence of an institution. Using Tanzania as a country case example, this article argues that the National Election Commission (NEC) does not pass the basic tests of an independent institution and hence its credibility is questionable for the key stakeholders. For NEC to be independent and autonomous, major reforms not only for the body but also for the entire political system and culture are needed in line with competitive politics.